T.I., Other Celebrities Blasts Blacks over Protesting in Ferguson

Rappers T.I. and Nelly and other celebrities believe the black community “pulled the trigger” (pun intended) too soon on the protests and demonstrations over the shooting death of Michael Brown in suburban St. Louis.

Nelly, who is from the St. Louis County that encompasses both his hometown and the suburb of Ferguson, criticized the black denizens of Ferguson, saying they jumped the gun by protesting too early, contributing to the violence.

“I understand the frustration, but we have to strategize before we overreact,” he told tmz.com. “We don’t get no do-over on s— like this, so we have to do it right the first time.”

Nelly added: “Ain’t nothing happen no different that hasn’t been happening … At the end of the day, we should have waited to strategize first and take all the right steps to organize.”

Friend and fellow rapper T.I. shared Nelly’s sentiments. “We needed to play chess instead of checkers. We should have waited to see if justice was going to be served first. We shouldn’t have played our strongest hand first.”

Meanwhile, TV One news anchor Roland Martin took to his social media platform to scorch the other side of the demonstrations: the looters:

“I am beyond saddened to see the looting in ‪#Ferguson. This removes the focus from justice for ‪#MikeBrown. Violence is never an answer,” he said.

Nelly said he is starting a scholarship fund in Michael Brown’s name. Nelly, T.I., Kevin Hart and NBA star Al Jefferson are the first four celebs to pledge $15,000 a year in college tuition to teens chosen by the Brown family.